October 4, 2021 - Suspended referee Ivan Bebek tells his side of the story after an audio recording of him insulting Hajduk and a Split journalist.

"I have been doing my job conscientiously since day one. Football is my life, and I don’t want anyone to take it away from me for a private message. It was easier for me to bear it after the support that came, just people from Dalmatia. I can say that I was wrong, but what I said at no time was intended for the public," Bebek said.

"Mijaukanje (meowing) is a colloquial, benign term I often use. This was thought to be about the fans. A mark for objecting or seeking the reason for defeat in the referee's decision, whether correct or not. I apologize if anyone misunderstood this," Bebek added, noting that he wanted to explain how this came about:

"I get threats and insults every few days. I try not to let it affect me, but obviously, after the "kill Bebek" shouts it's not like that. I was also physically attacked. Let me have a moment with a friend in which I say something inappropriate. This is the hardest moment of my career. Something that encroaches on the sphere of trying to show me what I am not. When I read about myself, I wonder if it’s me. How can I defend myself against the thesis that the word “meow” is so ugly? At no point did I refer to Hajduk or Hajduk fans," Bebek said, adding that he considered his credibility as a referee not to be undermined by this.

"I have been feeling uncomfortable coming to Split for a long time," he admitted.

"It is not easy for the players, the presidents or the fans, and journalists have their tasks. I fully understand that and from this point of view when I am calm I can understand some things, but not all," concluded Bebek.

After the recording was published, the president of the HNS, Marijan Kustić, reported Bebek to the Disciplinary Commission, which decided to initiate disciplinary proceedings and suspended Bebek until a decision was made on a possible punishment.

After the 10th round HNL match between Hajduk and Lokomotiva, which was refereed at Poljud, Bebek insulted Hajduk fans and Split journalist Blaž Duplančić in a private conversation. This all stemmed from a controversial moment in the 9th minute of the match when there was contact between Livaja and De Haas, after which Bebek did not award a penalty kick for Hajduk nor did he consult VAR.

Hajduk immediately requested a statement from HNS, and HNS hastily opened an investigation, forwarding the entire case to the Disciplinary Commission for urgent resolution.

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October 1, 2021 - The Croatian Football Federation has suspended referee Ivan Bebek after an audio recording was released earlier this week in which he insulted Hajduk fans and Split journalist Blaž Duplančić.

The disciplinary commission of the Croatian Football Federation held a session today to discuss referee Ivan Bebek and the audio recording that was published in the media this week, HNS reported on its official website.

After the recording was published, HNS President Marijan Kustić reported referee Ivan Bebek to the Disciplinary Commission, which at today's session decided to initiate disciplinary proceedings and suspended Bebek until a decision was made on a possible sentence.

The Disciplinary Commission requested a statement from Ivan Bebek on this case and will decide at a new session next week.

After the 10th round HNL match between Hajduk and Lokomotiva, which was refereed at Poljud, Bebek insulted Hajduk fans and Split journalist Blaž Duplančić in a private conversation. This all resulted from a controversial moment in the 9th minute of the match when there was contact between Livaja and De Haas.

Namely, Bebek had numerous conversations with players and coaches with the desire to show his authority and missed a blatant penalty for Hajduk. De Haas tripped Marko Livaja in the penalty area, though Bebek did not even consult VAR, which provoked a fierce protest from Livaja, who eventually earned a yellow card. 

"The tripping is not intentional or of great intensity, but the criterion of the probable situation is the one for which it was a penalty kick. The Lokomotiva player disrupted the opponent's coordination and movement," said Croatian referee expert Mario Strahonja.

Hajduk immediately requested a statement from HNS, and HNS hastily opened an investigation and forwarded the entire case to the Disciplinary Commission for urgent resolution.

Bebek refereed the Europa League match between the Legia Warsaw and Leicester in Warsaw on Thursday night but was removed from reffing in the HNL 11th round even before today's decision. 

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September 28, 2021 - The referees in the 11th round of the Croatian First League have been announced, which does not include Mario Zebec and Ivan Bebek, two of Croatia's most famous referees who HNS has reprimanded for several blunders in the 10th round. 

24 Sata reports that several reffing mistakes marked the 10th round of the Croatian First League, and HNS has taken action with consequences for individual referees. 

The names of the referees in the 11th round have been announced, but the list does not include Mario Zebec and Ivan Bebek, who were chastised in the last round for numerous errors and poor judgment. 

This can be understood as a kind of punishment by the Croatian Football Federation for Zebec and Bebek, as a way to help the Croatian referees learn from their mistakes. There have been many objections around Croatia from various refereeing and football experts in recent days, forcing the two already infamous refs to cool off, at least as far as the next round is concerned.

Zebec was the center of attention after not awarding a blatant penalty for Gorica against Rijeka (3:4). In the 93rd minute, Štefulj stepped on Dvorneković in the penalty area, which Zebec did not find suspicious. He got a second chance after communicating with Fran Jović from the VAR room, but even after reviewing the video, Zebec did not call a penalty. 

In addition, according to referee expert Mario Strahonja, he should have repeated Rijeka's penalty because a player entered the penalty area too early, and he failed to show a red card to Rijeka's Krešić.

Ivan Bebek, on the other hand, led the match between Hajduk and Lokomotiva at Poljud. Bebek had numerous conversations with players and coaches with the desire to show his authority, and at the beginning of the match, he missed a blatant penalty for Hajduk. De Haas tripped Marko Livaja in the penalty area, but there was no penalty for Bebek. He didn’t even bother consulting VAR, which provoked a fierce protest from Livaja, who eventually earned a yellow card. 

"The tripping is not intentional or of great intensity, but the criterion of the probable situation is the one for which it was a penalty kick. The Lokomotiva player disrupted the opponent's coordination and movement," said Mario Strahonja.

The 11th round between Osijek and Hajduk (Sunday, 7:30 pm) will be reffed by Igor Pajač and the match between Šibenik and Gorica on Friday by Tihomir Pejin. Duje Strukan will lead Lokomotiva and Slaven Belupo, and Andrej Burilo from Osijek will ref Dinamo and Hrvatski Dragovoljac on Sunday. Fran Jović will referee the derby between Rijeka and Istria on Saturday.

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It was a busy sport week in Croatia, football was the hottest topic, as The Eternal derby was played twice during the week

Ivan Bebek was directing the Europa League game between Sporting Braga and Fenerbahce but did not get any fans among Fener’s supporters